Skyhawks perform well in first championship event in discipline

The bicycles were a bit smaller than the Fort Lewis College cycling team is accustomed to, but the Skyhawks acquitted themselves nicely nonetheless.

Fort Lewis competed in the discipline of BMX for the first time, and the Skyhawks finished third at the 2013 USA Cycling BMX National Championships on Saturday in Phoenix.

Marian University won the national title with 177 points, needing a tiebreaker to clip defending champion Lindsey Wilson College, which also tallied 177 points. Fort Lewis finished behind with 137, while Lindenwood University (122) and Colorado Mesa (113) rounded out the top five in the team omnium standings.

It was the second year USA Cycling has held a collegiate championship event in BMX and the first year the points from the race count toward the organizationís end-of-season team omnium ranking.

The womenís national title was captured by Dominique Daniels of Grand Canyon for the second consecutive year, and the size of the field more than tripled to 23 total racers this year.

Frances Garcia was the top Fort Lewis performer, putting forth a top 10 finish by placing ninth. Tina Hott was 12th for Fort Lewis, while Brittany Clawson finished 15th overall. Leila Carrillo and Matilda Field were 18th and 19th, respectively, for the Skyhawks.